Transformers Prime Short: Mistakes
by Dragon with a Shotgun
Summary: Anna and Wheeljack are on their way home from school, but things take an unexpected turn and they are caught in the crossfire of 'Cons. What happens when Wheeljack dwells too much on the situation?
1. Chapter 1

**Transformers Prime Short**

By

Dragon with a Shotgun

**Hadn't done one of these in a while, so I might as well while I have some time from school! Enjoy!**

**Mistakes**

Wheeljack laughed loudly, his cocky grin spreading over his faceplates as he blew the smoke off his blaster. The target had been blown into pieces and smoke floated off of what was left of it. He was proud of his swords, but he was even more proud of his aiming. He and Bulkhead and Bumblebee had been target practicing and testing out their fighting skills in the training room at the new base. It had been a very long time since the last Decepticon showdown, and they felt that they were starting to become rusty.

"_Nice!" _Bumblebee beeped, clapping his hands slowly.

Bulkhead whistled, rubbing the back of his head. "Whoa, Jackie! You never stop surprising me!"

The other Wrecker huffed, changing his blaster back into his hand and wiggling his fingers testingly. Then he looked at his friend with bright eyes and a keen grin.

"Ya gotta know how to handle different kinds of weapons, Bulk. You can't just settle with one." He looked over his hand, but then frowned calmly. "But I think I'm getting a little rusty on my shooting…"

Bulkhead laughed and patted Wheeljack's shoulder roughly. "Ah, Jackie, I think that you're great just the way you are! You're shooting it awesome, better than mine."

The white Wrecker huffed again, a gruff noise that coughed up out of his tanks and felt rough in his throat. Bulkhead rolled his optics, knowing all too well that Wheeljack was only going through one of his 'moments'. He was thinking about the old days, when there were plenty of Wreckers to talk to, to fight alongside with. But they both knew that they were all gone, and that they had a new life on Earth, a new chance to restart and rebuild. But Wheeljack, being the stubborn one of the team, still held on to that sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, that more Wreckers were out there, waiting to be found.

"I know you miss 'em," the bulky green mech sighed, gently placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "But you… you need to let it go."

"Let it go?" Wheeljack said roughly. "How can I? How can I let all of those memories, all of those good times we'd shared with the crew, go and forget all of what had happened?"

Bulkhead shook his head. "I don't know about you. But me, I always think about what I have right now. I have a team that I can count on, a family I can talk to, a place where I am safe."

Wheeljack rolled his optics. He knew what Bulkhead meant, and respected it, but he couldn't let go of the good ole days. He missed being with the crew, crushing Decepticons as if they were nothing… He had actually considered leaving Earth again, to find more of the crew and maybe even bring thm back to Earth. Then Bulkhead's voice added.

"I also have Miko."

The white Wrecker then let his mind snap to Anna, his young, female human friend. How could he leave his sister? They were inseparable, as if they were actually blood related. Anna had always been there, since he had become her guardian and agreed to watch over her. She'd stayed with him in his ship and never left his side. She always made him laugh and happy whenever he felt like the whole universe was on his shoulders.

"Well," Wheeljack sighed in defeat, "I guess you're right…"

Bumblebee started to slowly step back, not wanting to accidently interrupt the two's conversation of their past. When Ratchet's voice called from the main room. So the three mechs stopped their training short and left the large metal room. They entered the main area where Ratchet was looking at the screen before he turned his attention to them.

"The kids need to be picked up from school." The medic informed before turning his optics back to the screen.

Wheeljack chuckled flatly before walking towards the exit. "Whatever you say, Sunshine." Before Ratchet could chew him out, the Wrecker transformed and sped out of the base. Bumblebee and Bulkhead looked at each other, but shrugged. Arcee had already transformed and was following. The two mechs transformed as well, and went on their own way, separating so that when they got to the school, they wouldn't attract attention.

Wheeljack flicked on his blinker as he turned back onto the road, steadying his steering and increasing his speed to the speed limit of fifty miles per hour. He checked his rearview mirror and checked for Bumblebee, who brought up the rear and passed him in an increasing speed. Wheeljack huffed, and kept at a steady speed, not wanting to risk being seen by anybody like the cops. That would be a story to tell Anna whenever he saw her again. He could see it now: _Giant Alien Robot Arrested for Speeding on the Highway._ It would be all over the news! It'd be the laugh of the century.

He chuckled at his overactive mind. He could think of such random things to amuse himself. But at the moment he focused on the road ahead of him. He didn't want to run over one of those critters again. He hit some kind of four-legged animal a short while ago, and it made a dent in his hood and actually cracked his windshield. Ratchet patched him up, and Anna, who had been sitting in the passenger seat when it had happened, had told him that it was a deer. Although he had no idea of why a deer would be out here in this desert-like land.

He also thought about how much longer it took to go and get the kids since they had moved schools when Unicron had been defeated and all of the storms and earthquakes. He didn't know where they were going now, but it was at least ten more miles farther. The only good thing about it was that they were much farther from the base, which also was moved.

He let his mind wander for a very long while. He thought about the Wreckers again. He desperately wished that he could go back and relive those days. He missed being part of an actual team of his own mechs. But he knew that that would never happen again. He was part of Team Prime, whether he liked it or not, because he knew that he couldn't just leave his friends, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and the others, and his family, Anna and… well, again, Bulkhead.

After a long while, he came up to the school and could see that Bumblebee, Arcee, and Bulkhead had already gotten there, for Raf, Jack, and Miko had already been gone. Anna was by herself, sitting with her legs propped up on the steps' railing with her headphones over her ears listening to music. She held her brown guitar in her lap, playing a few notes to herself while she waited for him.

She looked down at her phone, and smiled as she saw Jack's name.

_Hey, is Wheeljack there? If not, we can come back and get you._

She replied: _No, I'm good, thanks._

Then she nodded her head in a steady pace, most likely listening to a rock song. Since she had met Miko, she had been listening to more pop and rock. But the thing that really caught Wheeljack's attention was her new haircut. It had been cut really short, so that she almost looked like a boy rather than a girl. When did she get her hair cut? He'd only seen her a day or two ago, she couldn't have possibly made an appointment? But when she opened her eyes and spotted him drive up, she pulled off her headphones and stuffed them in her pack before standing up. She slung her guitar strap over her shoulder along with her pack. When she looked at him again, she suddenly rolled her blue eyes, making him wonder what she was thinking.

"Hey, Jackie!" she chirped, jumping into the passenger seat with her happy-go-lucky smile. She placed her pack and guitar in the back seat before turning and buckling herself in.

"Hey, kid," he said, appalled by her new hair style. "When… did you…?"

"Get my hair cut?" she finished for him. "I did it earlier today. Like it?"

Wheeljack smiled inwardly, but wasn't sure how to reply. He did like it, but it was different. It wasn't normal for her, with her hair being longer before. She looked more like a tomboy now. But, he actually didn't have a problem with that. But still… she didn't look like the little girl he loved. She was different, she was… He didn't know how to put it.

"Its, what Miko would say, rad?" he tried to put it in a positive way.

She laughed, and patted his dashboard. "Thanks, Jackie. I thought that maybe it was a little drastic of change, but I guess it can't be that bad."

Wheeljack chuckled as he backed up out of the parking space slowly. _Heh, if drastic is even the word… _Then he turned his red lights on, and then turned them off after checking for any cars. They were off again, starting down the road in a slow pace. They cruised for a while, not saying a word. Anna then reached back and grabbed her guitar and held it in her lap, propping her feet on the dash. The other bots would never let her do this, worried that she'd get injured if something happened in the road. But heck, Miko had stowed away in their bodies before! She had told Anna about the time when she had hid in Bulkhead's chassis until he found her. She had done the same to Wheeljack, who had actually brought her along willingly, but had forgotten about her being inside him.

Wheeljack listened as she struck a few strings. Notes E and B rang inside the space, making a pretty song light up the mood. She nodded her head, playing the song, Big Bad Bot, a song that she had come up with some time ago. She had wrote the lyrics all by herself, basing it off of her guardian's relationship to her. After a moment, she began to sing the notes, her voice soft, quiet as if she was singing to herself.

"_One, two, flesh and screw,_

_Three, four, fist and sword,_

_Five, six, patch and fix,_

_Seven, eight, we stay up late, _

_Nine, ten, then start all over again…_

_We both never knew, but when we heard the word, we both got the kicks, we both were in the same state… Then we both tried again…"_

She seemed to lose herself, and sighed, dropping her head back against the seat. She had a small smile, knowing that her guardian could hear her and her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. The Wrecker smiled inwardly. He knew the meaning of the song. It was about their differences and what they each had, but that they each had grown a strong friendship, and had conquered their troubles, and then how they sometimes come across bumpy parts of the road but try to help each other accomplish their missions together. She had wrote it not long after she had gotten her guitar. She had gotten mighty good at playing it, even if she was having trouble on a few strings, but when she started singing, it put his spark at ease and he relaxed. He always loved to watch her play and hear her sing. It made hmi feel happy and that everything was going to be okay.

"Ah, it wasn't that bad, Anna. In fact, I think you should turn it into a CD." he said in an amused voice, but deep down meaning it.

She looked at his steering wheel, and smiled in doubt. "You're joking…?"

"Nope. I'd think it be a great hit on the radio!"

And just as he had said it, her voice played on his stereo, a recording that he replayed from his memory. She hadn't noticed how quiet she was until she heard it herself, and when she did, she laughed and closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"No, seriously! It's not half bad!" he complimented, listening to her laugh and her face turning red. She giggled and shook her head.

He was about to continue, but then he grunted, and Anna could feel the metal around her shift slightly, as if he badly wanted to transform. He suddenly seemed fidgety and agitated by something.

"What's wrong?" she asked, smiling oddly at his steering wheel.

He grunted again, and then spoke. "I got a killer itch under my dash. Scrap!"

She laughed, hardly believing her ears. She's heard of dogs having to scratch at their ears to get rid of a flee, and a human rubbing an itch, but she never thought that a humongous robot such as this Wrecker could have such a tiny problem, especially since they were made of metal. How could a Cybertronian being be itchy? She guessed that maybe their nerves were just as sensitive as a human's.

"Ugh… Hey, can you give me a hand?" he said in an almost pleading voice.

She grinned. "Sure, what side?"

"On the left, under the wheel." he replied with a grunt.

She unbuckled and leaned over into the driver's seat. She lowered her arm under the wheel, and felt under the dash, and giggled when she felt the car tense.

"To the right a little… Whoa, easy! It's sensitive under- There!" he sighed in sheer relief. "Ah… that's better…"

The teen giggled, putting a little more pressure and using her nails. The car jolted, and she could almost hear… purring? Or was that the engine? But after she put more pressure again, she could clearly hear that it was indeed him making the sound. His engine revved a little as the itching eased to rubbing warmth, making his body shiver as the agitation was soothed away.

"You sound like a huge cat!" she joked, using both of her hands.

"Really?" he huffed in a soothed tone, letting his engine roar louder and making the purring noise again. The human scratched for a while, listening to him as he enjoyed the attention. Under his dash must have been one of his 'spots' as she called them. It's like when you go to get a massage and the masseuse rubs a spot that makes you feel like you're melting right through the bed. He had a few 'spots', such as in the back of his neck and in the middle of his back. She guessed that even in his vehicle mode he still had them.

"Better?" she asked, pausing.

"Oh yeah, thanks!" he sighed, actually disappointed that she had stopped.

The girl laughed and climbed back into her place in the passenger seat. He carried on driving, thanking Primus, and his little helper, that the itch had stopped. It almost felt like a miniature Scraplet that had crawled up under his armor. It was one thing to have an itch when he was in robot mode when he could scratch it, but whenever he was on the road as a vehicle, it was downright living hell!

But suddenly something else caught his attention, and he turned rearview mirror to get a better look. He saw two purple cars, a pair cruising behind them slow and steady. They stayed spaced out, some feet away from each other. He had noticed them earlier, but had paid no mind to them before. But now he frowned to himself, growing serious when he spotted Decepticon symbols on their front of their grills. Anna seemed to feel the tension of the car and gazed at his wheel in concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a scared tone, feeling that something was up. She turned around in her seat to see what he was looking at and gasped when she saw the two cars behind them. She threw her guitar in the back seat and faced forward, tightening her seatbelt and reaching her hand to grab the handle above her.

"Hold on," Wheeljack ordered, his gears shifting. With a push of the gas pedal they sped forward, leaving the two cars behind. But before they got too far out of sight, Wheeljack watched them split into alleys, one going to his left behind, and the other going to his right. He lost sight of them, and cursed out loud, obviously agitated.

"What now? We can't call a bridge while we're in the town." Anna had been relieved now that they were gone, but she still had a worried look on her face.

"I know, I know…" he said hurriedly, trying to think of a way to get the 'Cons off his tailpipe. They couldn't bridge out, risking allowing other humans to see them. He couldn't transform either, having the same risk. If he called for backup, Soundwave, the Decepticon's spy and chief, might pick up the location of the Autobot base.

"Scrap…" he muttered under his breath. He could see the dirt road up ahead, but he knew that if he sped off now, the 'Cons would really be up his aft. But if he didn't rush off now, they would be able to catch him easier, and his sister would be in danger…

Anna had already gotten her phone out, but she gasped. "No connection…"

He sighed, and made his decision. He decided that he had to try to lose them. He sped up, passing over the speed limit of fifty, hitting sixty. He'd have to get out of there, he didn't know what would happen when he did, but he had Plan A going. Get out of town. That's all that mattered at that single moment. They were wary, watching out for the two Decepticon troopers as they hurried along the road. But right when they thought that they had lost them, the troopers appeared from behind them, seeing as they had more room to move, they were speeding now.

A painful and electric shock hit his taillight and he held back a yelp. Scrap, they were shooting at them now! Smoke sifted off of his taillight and it stung like a hornet. He took another look in the mirror. They were right on him, almost touching him. They began firing again, red blast shots shooting past Wheeljack's sides, a few just barely scraping his sides. Wheeljack hit the gas, and they were hitting eighty now, speeding down the lonely and abandoned road to the abandoned town that the kids used to go to school at. Normally the road was silent, but it was anything but quiet with the three cars speeding down the pavement and their engines roaring. The troopers were gaining on them, until one sped forward, and bumped the Wrecker's rear. He gasped when he almost lost control of his driving, but regained his traction on the pavement. He glanced at Anna in the passenger seat to make sure that she was alright. She was clearly scared, for this was the first encounter she had had with Decepticons in a long time. He felt a sudden jolt from behind, and growled.

"Anna," he said quickly, "I want you to unbuckle for me, okay?"

She gave him an odd, confused expression. But she didn't argue. She unstrapped herself, and then looked at him with wide eyes.

"Alright, whatever you do, don't hold on!"

Her eyes really got big, but before she could ask why he said what he did, metal around her shifted. She shrieked when she was sent flying through the air. He transformed, and once he was in his regular form, he twisted around with a loud and strained yell and fired his blaster at the two troopers, making them spin and swerve off course and onto the dirt on the side of the road. It was almost like slow motion. He jogged backwards, the speed of his driving forcing him backwards before he jumped back. All the while he could hear Anna's small and frightened scream before he transformed again, flipping over onto his tires and landing on the pavement with a hard jolt, shaking his armor. Anna landed right back where she sat in the passenger seat before he even transformed. Her blue eyes were wide in shock and fear and he could feel her trembling as he strapped her in the seatbelt.

Wheeljack sped off, wanting to lose the 'Cons as fast as he could. But they were right on him again, now there were three, one having joined the race while he was distracted by the other two. He decided that it was now time to call for help.

"Hey, Doc! I need an emergency ground bridge now!"

"_What? Wheeljack, your energy is too low! What's going on?"_

"I know, I know! Just do it, now! I got two 'Cons on my tail!" The Wrecker was out of breath. He looked into his rearview mirror, and groaned when he saw that the troopers were right behind him again, and they began to shoot again. He swerved left to right to dodge the line of fire. He was out of ideas. He had to risk calling base, and he didn't have any other options that appealed to him at the time. He was too worried about Anna. She had covered her eyes with her hands, and was curling up.

_Scrap… I should've taken that energon this morning… _He hadn't injected himself with energon earlier that day, so now he was sluggish, slow. Soon he would pass out if he stopped and fought them, and then he would not be able to protect Anna. He was determined not to allow that to happen.

In only a few seconds, a large green swirling portal appeared in front of them, to his pure relief. Something small and round dropped behind the Wrecker. He shifted gears and shot forward, reaching the bridge before the Decepticon troopers got within three feet of him, and then it closed, leaving them stranded out in the desert in confusion. After a few moments when they had transformed, an explosion shot out and caught the three Decepticons off-guard. They didn't even see the grenade.

Wheeljack swerved, and spun when he hit solid ground and was suddenly in the base headquarters. Ratchet snapped his head to the car, dust flying around him from when he drove in. He could almost hear Wheeljack's panting, fighting to control himself as he was very low on fuel and energy, crucially low, dangerously low.

"By the Allspark, Wheeljack!" the medic shouted, rushing to his side after he let Anna out and transformed back into his robot self. The Wrecker sighed heavily, dropping to his knees with great force. His optics were dim and dazed-looking. His dirt-coated armor trembled as he fought to keep his strength from spilling out of his body. Anna gasped when she stood back up and turned around, wanting to go up to him but afraid that he'd fall on top of her.

"Easy, Wheeljack, calm down." Ratchet said in a deep stern voice.

"That was too close, Ratchet…" Anna muttered, dropping to her rear and covering her head with his arms. She was panting, too, but in fear and shock rather than exhaustion. Those Decepticons were so close they could've hit his bumper if Ratchet hadn't had opened the bridge when he did.

"What in the world were you two doing?" Ratchet demanded, injecting the tube of blue liquid into the Wrecker's arm. The Wrecker's optics seemed to light up more, and he blinked when some strength returned to his body.

Anna coughed. "We were followed from town, then they sped after us." She answered in a raspy tone.

Bulkhead was standing beside Wheeljack. He asked in a serious and worried tone. "You okay, Jackie?"

The white bot nodded slowly, letting air vent through his tanks. Miko was leaning over the rail where the other kids sat at the couch, looking at each other with worried expressions but with confusion mainly showing in their eyes.

"Whoa, that was wicked!" the Japanese girl gaped at the scratches all over his sides and shoulders.

Wheeljack blinked slowly. He let his optics fall on Anna, who gazed up at her guardian with her large and scared blue eyes. He felt his spark began to pulse faster, and he offered her a soft, comforting but strained grin.

"Some ride, huh?"

She returned his smile, and jogged up to him and wrapped her arms around his finger. He wiggled his finger, making her giggle. He felt his spark light up at her smile, and sighed in relief as most of his strength flowed through his body. But then he felt his chest tighten when he saw a familiar shadow cross over his own. He lifted his gaze and followed the legs to the waist to the chest and then to the head of his leader. He blinked slowly, and he and the Prime's optics meeting for a moment before Optimus glanced at Anna.

"What is their condition, Ratchet?" he finally asked, looking at the medic.

Ratchet shook his head. "Wheeljack just needs some patching up and energon for strength, as for Anna, just some time without drama."

The Prime nodded before gazing at the two for a moment, a few emotions flickering on his face plates before he turned away. The Wrecker and teenager watched in silence as he left, and then looked at each other in confusion before shrugging. Wheeljack suddenly stood, shakily, but successfully getting to his feet. He steadied himself, with a little help from the medic while he put his hands on his sides and shoulder.

"I'll… I'll be in my ship for a while…" he said quietly, deeply before walking out through the exit and leaving the room in awkward silence. Anna watched him go in sympathy. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked at Jack Darby with saddened eyes.

"You okay? I mean… wanna hang out with us and watch TV or something?" he asked, concern and sympathy in his eyes.

She smiled at him softly. Jack must have been worried when he had heard about the attack, but he seemed more at ease knowing that she was alright. She knew that Wheeljack wanted to be alone for a while, to her disappointment. But she guessed that she would live without talking to him for a while. He probably needed some time to himself. Besides, maybe watching TV and talking to the other would ease her unsettled nerves. She then noticed Jack's concerned expression as he studied her face.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That looks pretty painful." He lifted a hand and put it to her temple, and she cringed when she felt a sudden pain in her head. She put her hand up to the cut, and let out a small gasp. She must have gotten it when Wheeljack had transformed on the roll, and she banged her head against the side of the window.

"Come on," Jack offered, "Let's go get that cleaned up."

So they went up the steps to the living area where Miko and Raf sat watching them. The younger boy lifted his eye brows.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a small voice.

She nodded and smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Dude, you must tell me what happened!" Miko grinned, looking over the back of the couch.

After Jack helped Anna clean up her head, they went over to the sofa and turned on the TV. Miko had the controller, flipping from channel to channel, bored out of her mind when she couldn't find a show that appealed to her. The group of kids was quiet, nobody having anything to say or to break the silence. The kids had decided that they would stay the night at the Autobot base, since it was Friday and that they wouldn't have to get up for school the next day. Problem was, though, they had almost absolutely nothing to do. June Darby, Jack's mom, had already gone home. Jack sat beside Anna with his legs sprawled out, his arms over the back of the couch and Raf and Miko on the floor. The only sounds that were heard were Ratchet working on a tool over at his work place, Miko groaning in boredom, and the TV's constant changing noises. The silence went on for half an hour, and Miko still flipped through channel to channel.

"Wait, stop!" Anna's eyes lit up when she saw a familiar scene from the movie Titanic, the part when Rose DeWitt Bukater met Jack Dawson on the giant ship and when Rose was about to jump off the side of the ship. She smiled, and sighed.

Miko made an unamused frown and looked over her shoulder and Anna. "Seriously?"

Jack put a finger to his mouth. "Shh!"

Miko sighed and dropped her head onto the pillow she had propped her head on. But later on, she began to watch in interest.

"_Don't do it." Jack warned Rose as she stood on the railing._

"_Stay back! Don't come any closer!" Rose snapped back._

"_Come on," Jack's voice tried to stay calm. "just give me your hand. I'll pull you back over."_

"_No! Stay where you are! I mean it, I'll let go!"_

_Jack walked over slowly, and throws his cigarette over the side. "No you won't._

_Rose watched him. "What do you mean, 'No I won't'? Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do, you don't know me!"_

"_Well, you would've done it already."_

"_You're distracting me! Go away!"_

_Jack responded. "I can't. I'm involved not. You let go, and I'm… I'm gonna have to jump in there after you!"_

Anna sighed again, and without thinking leaned her head over onto Jack's shoulder. The older boy looked at her from the corner of his eye, and tried to suppress a smile as he felt her rub her head against his grey T-shirt. He felt his face grow warm, and he allowed himself to smile slightly. The teen had had a crush on the girl for a long while now, since he had met her. He guessed that, since Sierra, a girl he knew at school, didn't talk to him much anymore since the Decepticons attacked, maybe he had a chance with Anna. She was kind, smart, but knew how to handle a joke. They talked a lot, and he liked her a lot too. He didn't want to ruin the moment… He relaxed, and sighed as he resumed watching the show, his heart pounding in his chest.

"_Like I said, I don't have a choice. I guess I'm kinda hoping you'll come back over the railing, an' get me off the hook here."_

"_You're crazy." Rose said._

"_That's what everybody says but, with all due respect, Miss, I'm not the one hanging off the back of a ship here. Come on. C'mon, give me your hand. You don't want to do this."_

_She reaches her hand back, he reaches his forward, and he helps her back onto the deck full of relief._

"_Whew! I'm Jack Dawson." Jack introduced himself." _

"_Rose De Witt Bukater." Rose replied._

"_I'm gonna have to get you to write that one down."_

Jack Darby sighed, and looked over at Anna beside him and was surprised to find that she was already asleep, her hands wrapped around herself and her legs curled behind her. He had never been in a situation like this before, and was unsure of what to do. He was hesitant, not sure how to move without waking her. Finally he lowered his arm and rested it over her shoulders, almost hugging her close to him. Miko and Raf had fallen asleep as well, and at the moment he was the only one awake. Even ratchet had gone to his room for recharge. It seemed that everybody had gone to sleep, and left the base silent and dark. But after a while, Jack felt the darkness closing in. Although he was determined to stay awake, he couldn't hold the sleep at bay for long. Soon, he was out and snoring softly with his head leaning over to the side.

_**To be continued… **_**Unless I haven't been looking hard enough, I don't see many pairings of Oc's and Jack Darby. He's actually a cute guy when you watch him enough. Well, I hope that this is good. Just something that's been on my mind for a little while. Thanks, comment!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Transformers Prime Short**

By

Dragon with a Shotgun

**Mistakes 2**

When Anna woke up, she yawned and blinked as she looked around. She saw that the TV was still on, now an old cartoon was on, some cat chasing a yellow bird with large eyes. She guessed that it was Looney Toons. But then she felt Jack's arm around her, and was hesitant of sitting up, worried of waking him this time. But she carefully slid out from under his arm, not feeling comfortable with all of the crowded space, as much as she liked being near him. She sat up, stretching, and then looking at Jack's face. She smiled slightly, lifting a hand and brushing a piece of hair out of his face.

She then turned away, standing up slowly before stretching. She then spotted a familiar figure standing in front of the screen. Optimus Prime stood almost motionless, staring at the screen as he pushed in a few codes, most likely trying to decode some relic locations probably. She sighed, and walked over to the steps and starting to make her way down.

"Anna?" a deep voice above her spoke deeply and calmly, but almost sounded as if a question. She looked up at the huge Prime, who had heard her footsteps and stirring and was gazing down at her with bright blue optics that lit up the dark.

"Yeah?" she yawned, rubbing at her eyes.

"Why aren't you asleep?" he asked in concern.

She shrugged at the question, blinking rapidly. "I woke up and wanted to go to Wheeljack's ship. What are _you_ doing up so late?" She looked at her watch. It was just after twelve, which struck her odd that the Prime would be up in the middle of the night.

Optimus smiled softly at her, but had a tint of concern in his optics. "I am finishing some left-over codes that I had intended to decode yesterday. I thought that since I could not recharge, that I'd be able to work on these in my free time."

Anna hummed, and nodded drowsily. "Well, I guess I'll go to bed. Night Optimus…"

Optimus nodded in return. "Good night, Anna."

The teenager sluggishly wandered towards the way Wheeljack had gone earlier in the afternoon, but stopped when she realized that she was about to go outside in the cold with no shoes and no jacket and nothing to wrap herself in. She looked over her shoulder at Optimus, who had gone back to working on the codes.

"Optimus?"

He titled his helm so that he could see her. "Yes, Anna?"

She gulped, embarrassed to ask. "W-Would you take me to his ship? I guess I forgot that it was literally outside…"

He turned his whole body, an optic ridge lifted in confusion. He must have realized what she had meant now, too, because he suddenly had a struck expression.

"Of course. I'm sorry… I did not realize." He walked over to her, and, ever so gently, lowered his hand to the ground. She stepped into it, and sat down with her legs hanging over the side of his palm. It wasn't surprising that his hand was warm, since he was a living thing despite being made of metal. After he made sure that she was handing on, he cupped his hand below the one she sat in to make sure that she didn't fall, and walked toward the exit.

He stepped outside the base, and walked towards the ship. As he walked, he felt her shiver slightly in his hands. He put his free hand behind her, and held her close to his chest to keep her from being touched by the cold breeze. She sighed when she felt the warmth of his spark radiating off his chamber. When he got to the Jackhammer, he pushed the keypad to open the door. When it did, he looked down at Anna.

"Will you be alright from here?" he inquired, making sure that she was ready before he was willing to let her to the ground.

She nodded meekly, still a little dazed by sleep. "Mhm…"

He smiled softly, and carefully placed her inside the ship entrance. The door closed and she was left standing alone at the door inside the dark ship. At least the floor was warm… But the air was cool, nipping at her nose. And making her sneeze quietly. She looked towards the berth, where she could see her guardian recharging. The berth had always been there, but you could say that it was like those fold up ones that went into the wall. It was made to hold a single Cybertronian. But then again, she wasn't Cybertronian, was she? Relieved that he hadn't gone out driving, she started making her way towards the berth, slowly but surely. There as a ladder that had been built beside the berth so that she could get in. This was one of the rare times that she had to use the ladder, because Wheeljack had always picked her up and put her on his chest before he went to sleep.

When she got to the top of the ladder, she was glad that he was lying in his back. She crawled up onto the berth and started to crawl up his side, and then she crawled over to the head of his berth. When she reached his neck, she burrowed under the covers and crept through the darkness, feeling for the direction of his chest. She felt for the warmth, and when she finally came above his spark chamber, she curled up and snuggled against the surprisingly soft armor around his chest. Despite Cybertronians being made of metal, they were actually similar to humans. Being soft in some places and being hard in others. His chest was warm, almost cushioned. It was where she always slept at night.

While she curled up beneath the blanket, the Wrecker opened his optics, looking down for a moment. He sighed when he felt her already asleep.

"Night, kid… I'm so sorry…" he spoke under his breath. He had felt terrible for scaring her, and putting her in that situation earlier. She had been so scared, terrified. He had noticed the cut on her temple earlier. That's one of the reasons why he had left, so that he wouldn't have to feel too bad… But it still stung in his chest. That knowing thought that he had hurt her made him feel guilty. He was sore, and very exhausted, despite Ratchet injecting him with energon earlier. He wasn't that tired. He had too much on his mind to recharge.

He had missed her being in the ship with him. He had hoped that she'd follow him into the Jackhammer, but when she didn't, he felt that it was best to be left alone while he was in the shape he was. He didn't want her to see him like this… weak, defenseless, pathetic… What kind of brother would she see him as then? A lousy one for sure… But she was so vulnerable… so weak, physically. Strong-willed, but if she was to go up against a 'Con alone, she'd be killed. He was afraid for her safety, that was why he had risked it all to protect her that day. She needed s mech or both who could protect her, she needed him…

_But with the way I acted, I couldn't been the one who killed her… _That thought sent a jolting pain through his spark… If he had done that though, he would never have been able to forgive himself. Maybe… maybe it was time to give up being a guardian? Maybe the job was too big of a responsibility and that maybe someone else could do better. He sure wasn't the one for the job, being reckless and wild in battle. He was too rough, too old for this… What about Smokescreen? He was young, active, loyal, and was learning the rules of Earth anyhow. Maybe she would be a good influence on the young bot. But the thought of giving her up, his little, beloved sister, made him cringe. But he knew that if he kept up his rough ways with the Decepticons, then He'd most likely get her killed…

That was the main thing on his processer that kept him awake since he boarded the Jackhammer. That thought bounced around in his head, and finally he made a decision. Another one… He'd talk to Smokescreen tomorrow. But he'd have to discuss it with Optimus first. Oh, how he was going to hate himself for this… He wouldn't be able to go and pick her up from school, he wouldn't be able to take her out for drives, no more tickling… Scrap… that would be the parts he'd miss the most…

What was he thinking? It wasn't like he was leaving Earth or something, or fixing to go offline! He'd be able to see her every day if he wanted, he'd just drop by and visit for a little while. Besides, jack would watch over her, too. The Wrecker had checked on Anna earlier, before Optimus came into the room. He'd seen Jack's arm wrapped around his little sister. He'd seen how she was smiling, leaning into Jack's shoulder.

_Ah, bolts... she's growing up too fast… _he sighed to himself. He was overreacting. Maybe he shouldn't talk to Smokescreen, or Optimus. Maybe he should just take a small trip, to take a break from it all… It would be too sudden for the kid, to tell her off the bat that Smokescreen would be her new guardian. It would break her heart… But it could be worse, though, right? He could've really hurt her if he hadn't have been any more careful that he was when on the road earlier that day.

"Alright…" he muttered to himself, preparing himself for recharge. "I'll talk to him tomorrow…"

The next day, Anna was alone in the berth, sleeping and snoring softly. She felt that Wheeljack's spark wasn't there, no warmth to comfort her like it always did when she woke up. She sat up with a groan, stretching before she settled and looked about her. The Wrecker was gone, not in the Jackhammer.

But after a few minutes, while she had gotten ready and putting her clothes on and brushing her now very short hair, the large door opened and her big brother came in, and it surprised her when he had a sorrowful look on his face.

"Morning, Jackie," she greeted, kicking her feet as she sat on the edge of the berth.

He tried to smile, it almost looked forced. "Hey, kid… Sleep well?"

His voice was strained, too. She lifted an eyebrow at him in confusion. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head rapidly, as if coming out of a daze. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine." He paused for a moment, looking away for a moment towards his grenade box before looking back to her. "Come on, I'm taking you for a drive."

She grinned happily and finished brushing what little hair she had left and jumped into his hand when he held it out in front of her. She loved going on for drives with him. It was actually patrol, but he always considered it a drive to make it sound better and not as scary.

"So, where are we going this time?" she asked cheerily.

He sighed. "Um… just around the base a few times. I don't want to go too far from the base after yesterday…"

She nodded in understanding and smiled at him happily. "That's fine. Let's go!"

So they went off. It wasn't an actual circle around the base. It was mainly just up and around the roads that surrounded the base. The day was early, just after eight. The land was light, but not all the way since the sun wasn't all the way up. It was cool and refreshing. It was awkwardly quiet, which wasn't normal for either of them. They were both thinking about the day before, and wondering if the other was going to break the silence. Anna fidgeted in her seat, pulling out a journal she had always carried with her everywhere she went. She was always writing down things in it, sketching ideas or writing ideas for songs or just plain writing down memories in general.

"Hey, Anna?" the Wrecker asked in a quiet tone. Anna had never heard his voice get that soft before. When she heard it, she knew that something was up.

"Yeah?" she answered, looking away from her book and setting it down beside her.

He seemed to hesitate, wary of what he was about to say. But he began, slow and full of dread.

"Kiddo… I feel like Scrap about what happened yesterday, and I don't want it to happen again. I'm sorry about your head… I didn't realize until we were at base…"

"It's okay, I'll be alright." she replied smiling.

"No," he spoke sternly now, but she could tell that he was trying to not let his voice break. He sounded choked. "It's not okay… I hurt you, and I could've killed you yesterday tryin' to protect you! I don't want it to happen again. I talked to Optimus this morning, and Smokescreen. We had a short meeting and… well…"

"Well what?" she urged, a growing dread settling in her stomach and concerned about what he was about to say next.

He took in a deep breath, and then let it out. "Smokescreen will be your new guardian."

Her body went cold, she swallowed hard, not believing what she was hearing. She stared at the wheel in utter shock. Was he playing some kind of prank or something? He was her brother! Or her adopted brother… Or the other way around… But that was beside the point!

"Y-You're joking?" she laughed out in a raspy tone. She tried to make herself believe that he was truly kidding.

"No, Anna… I'm not joking… I'm going to go on my own for a long time, leave and get away from everything. I'm so sorry… It's just something I can't deal with."

"No! You can't! What about everything that we've been through? What about our song? What about our-,"

"Anna… calm down…" he said as calmly as he could.

"How can I? Wheeljack… you're my brother… You can't do this…"

"Don't argue, Anna. I'm sorry, but my choice it made. I'm only doing this for your own good." His voice was suddenly stern, but she could hear the sadness in it.

He swallowed, having heard her pleading voice made his spark lurch in his chest, and he knew that she was desperate to grab onto anything that might save their partnership. But he knew that anything she said wouldn't work… He was doing this for her safety. He was silent on the way back to the base, not wanting to hurt her any more than he already had. If that was possible… She sat in silence, leaning against the window and watching the scenery as it went by, her eyes puffy from being on the verge of crying. So that was why he brought her out here… To break the news to her that he was going to abandon her… She felt struck, and a few tears began to make their trip down her cheeks before she could stop them.

When they got back to the base, he let her out and transformed. He already started walking into the base, not looking at her and his body stiff. She stared at his back as he walked away. How could he do this…? They were family… He promised that he'd always be there for her… He promised to always stay with her no matter what…

She followed in silence. She took small steps, entering the base and looking up at Optimus, who was speaking to Smokescreen in a quiet tone. She couldn't hear, but watched as the young bot who was spoken to nod as the Prime directed his words to him. He had dim optics, and when Optimus seemed to be finished with his sentence, he turned his optics and gazed at her. She shifted her feet, looking down.

"Don't worry, Optimus. I'll take care of her." he assured his leader, looking back at him before glancing at Anna again. She didn't look up at him.

But he sighed quietly, and walked over to her and kneeled down. "Hey… I'm sorry about this… I wish it didn't have be like this…"

She shrugged. "I guess I'll go get my stuff from the Jackhammer…" Then she turned away and walked off, leaving them. Smokescreen didn't follow. He knew that she didn't want to see anybody at the moment. He may not know much, but he knew when it was time to talk to someone and when it wasn't.

"Wheeljack," Optimus turned to the Wrecker, who was looking dazed and staring into space. When he heard his name, he shook his head and turned to him slowly. Then Optimus continued.

"Are you still sure about this? She depends on you, Wheeljack." The Prime had a stern, but soft expression.

The Wrecker sighed very heavily. "No… I'm not… But my mind is set. I'm not willing to allow myself to put her in danger. Besides," he looked down, "she could use someone younger than her to talk to. After all, I'm just an old Wrecker."

"Wheeljack-,"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Optimus."

The Prime frowned. "Then at least speak with her about this."

Wheeljack was about to snap at him, tell him to frag off and mind his own business. But he held his tongue and looked away. It w_as_ his business. He was the leader of Team Prime. Of course he'd have to stick his nose into all the affairs within it. Deep down, though, Wheeljack couldn't blame him. Optimus was worried about their relationship, and knew how close they were. He didn't want them to break up after everything they had been through.

So Wheeljack took in a deep breath, and let it our slowly. He then walked past Smokescreen and towards the exit. When he stepped outside, he saw that the door of the Jackhammer had been left open. He sighed again, not really wanting to see her in the mood she was in now. But all things that are meant for good come with a price, right? Do they? He wasn't sure anymore… He wasn't sure about anything anymore.

He walked into the entrance of the ship, looking around before he spotted her at the berth. She searched her pack, stuffing one of the comforters that she had brought with her once in it. She snatched up a cap from the edge of the berth. It was her favorite one, black with a pink superman symbol. It matched her plain pink T-shirt and her white and pink shoes. She then stood up, slinging the pack over her shoulder.

_Oh Primus, help me…_ He sighed and walked toward the berth.

"Hey, kid…" he said meekly as he stepped up to the side of the berth.

She didn't look at him, but replied flatly. "Hey, Wheeljack."

He felt struck that she called him by his full name. She never did this unless she was serious or… well, she _never _said his full name. She'd always called him 'Jackie', just as Bulkhead did. It felt odd to be called by his whole name by her. But he held back his lurching spark and gazed at her with saddened optics.

"Anna… I am… sorry that it had to happen like this… I hate that I'm doing this."

She suddenly froze, looking down at her pack blankly. Then she turned to him. "Then why are you doing it?"

"I have to. I want you to be safe." He replied softly.

"But I am safe, with you!" she protested, standing up more.

He nodded, looking down. "I'm sorry…"

"No you're not!" she choked out, tears creeping down her face. "You said that you'd always be with me… That you'd always protect me!"

He then let his optics fall on her. "I _am_ protecting you! That's the reason I'm doing this."

"No! You just want to let someone else take care of me so that you won't have to worry about me getting in the way! I remember that race from yesterday. I was preventing you from fighting those Decepticons when you could've taken them head-on without me! I know how you are, Wheeljack. But I guess that being free from being a guardian is more important than me right?"

He leaned back slightly, shocked by her words and her opinion about what he was doing. Of course he didn't want to let someone else take care of her. But she had it all wrong! He loved her, and he wasn't concerned about his own freedom. But before he could object to her, she had already started down the ladder. She jumped off when she was most of the way down and landed with a hard thump before stomping out of the Jackhammer. He could hear her sobbing as she left, and saw her wipe her eyes before she jumped out of the ship.

"Primus…" he moaned before looking at his feet. His spark felt heavy in his chamber, and his optics began to feel puffed up. But he shook his head. She would be better off like this. He wouldn't have to worry about hurting her anymore. He wouldn't have to worry about her being in danger anymore. She would be safe… She was just upset. That was why she reacted so drastically, and why she was so confused. Her mind was racing and she just said whatever she thought. She didn't mean anything by it.

Anna tried her best not to sob any more than she had, but she couldn't help but let out a small cry. She felt her chest tighten, and her throat felt as if it was swelling up. Her head had begun throbbing when she entered the base. She stopped, and turned to look over her shoulder as she heard the Jackhammer door close. She whimpered, watching as the ship started up and took to the air quickly. She didn't stop looking at it until it disappeared, and even then she didn't look away until she could no longer hear it.

She rolled the pack on her shoulder, and carried on walking into the base. She ambled on by Optimus and Smokescreen, who were waiting for Wheeljack to come in. But when they heard the ship disappear, they knew that he wouldn't be coming back in a long time. Once the Wrecker left, he was gone for a long period of time. They didn't know what he would do by himself. Anna had always been there, had always had something for them to do. But without her being with him now, they wondered what he was going to do now that he was alone.

Optimus watched as she wandered past them silently, barely look up at them before starting to climb up the stairs. She walked over to the couch and dropped her bag beside it and sat down. She leaned over, and buried her face on her arms rested on her knees. Smokescreen cringed a little.

"Optimus, are you sure about this? I mean… she's in a pretty bad mood right now and-,"

"She is in distress at the time being. But in time she will grow stronger and realize that she hasn't lost everything. Perhaps she'll take on to you as her new guardian."

"I don't want a new guardian…"

The two mechs turned and looked towards Anna. She sat leaned back against the sofa, her face hard but her eyes swelled with tears.

"Now, young one, you know that you need a guardian to look after you." the Prime reminded firmly.

"I don't care…" she whispered, turning over and letting her back face them.

Smokescreen sighed, almost desperately. Even though she really needed someone to be with her, the young mech knew that if he tried to talk to her now, she'd only push him away. He wanted to comfort her, but now wasn't the time… He'd talk to her later when she was settled and calmed down. Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee, and the other humans had arrived some time later, and also avoided her for the rest of the day.

Later that day, in the afternoon, Anna had found herself hooking up her guitar to Miko's stereo and playing a few chords. She played the song _Shut Up and Drive_ by Rihanna, matching the music and singing along with the lyrics. It was one of her favorite songs, she had always listened to it on the way to school with… Wheeljack… She sure missed him. She had never been without him for this long on a weekend, especially on a Saturday. Every Saturday he'd take her to Las Vegas to drive around early morning and late at night to see all of the lights and go shopping. But now she guessed that she wouldn't be doing that anymore. Well, she could entertain herself. She was doing it now! Playing her guitar always made her feel better, but right now it really wasn't comforting her.

She played the solo for a while, even when the song had ended. She played for a long time, letting the song bounce around in her hollow mind. Ratchet had been listening while he work, and was almost sick of hearing it. But he didn't say anything.

To his relief, she finally stopped. She placed the instrument down beside the sofa and plopped down and grabbed up the remote. The other kids were hanging out with Bumblebee, Raf translating him and the others laughing at his jokes and stories about his life on Cybertron. Anna looked away from them, and decided that maybe taking a nap would help ease her mind. She lied down, resting her head on the arm of the couch and closing her eyes. But she couldn't keep them closed for long.

Bumblebee looked up from the children and caught sight of the lone teen on the couch, blankly staring at the TV. She looked so sad… so depressed and unsettled… He knew how badly she felt, and that she missed Wheeljack very much. Since he had left, she had been miserable. She hadn't said a word to anybody, besides replying with a "No, thanks" when June Darby asked if she was hungry. He wished that there was something that he could do to cheer her up. Suddenly his optics lit up in a smile and he looked down at Raf, Jack, and Miko.

Ratchet sighed as he checked on the systems of the space bridge. It had been having some unexpected power downs lately, and it really concerned him. He had been trying to get down to the root of the problem, but he just couldn't find the source of the problem. He was so engulfed in his work that he didn't notice Miko place an object some feet behind him. She then rushed away before he could get a chance to spot her.

Anna watched from the corner of her eye, curious of what she was doing. She caught sight of her when she had crept up behind the medic and saw the mischief in her eyes as she carried the round object. But she had never seen anything like it before. Miko put a finger to her mouth, grinning while she ran back around the corner where Bumblebee, Jack and Raf hid.

"_Hey, Ratchet? Come look at this!_" She heard Bumblebee's electronic call and studied Ratchet. The medic sighed gruffly, turning his head.

"What is it this time?" he called back, not turning around.

"_Just come here!_" Bumblebee demanded again.

Ratchet growled and finally turned around to see what Bumblebee was talking about. But when he let his optics fall to the floor, they were suddenly filled with terror and surprise, growing as wide as tires. He jumped back with a shocked and fright.

"Scraplet!" he cried out in a high-pitched voice as he held his hands out towards the Scraplet in a shoving fashion.

The kids and Bumblebee were laughing in their corner. They were on the floor, rolling around and crying out in laughter. Until Optimus appeared beside Ratchet, gazing down at the dead Scraplet with curious eyes and a blank expression. Bumblebee then twirled his fingers, looking to the kids for help of explaining, but they too were shoved into silence. The Prime was about to say something to the kids, but before he did he heard a small noise and looked over at the couch. Anna was smiling, although it was hidden by her hands as she tried to suppress her laughter. He turned his optics to the others, who were giving each other happy glances. Optimus then smiled, to their surprise. The Prime had been watching Anna all day, and seeing that she was finally smiling made him glad. That meant that she was healing from earlier events.

"Movie time!" Miko announced, holding up a movie case with the name _Slither_. It showed a girl's leg being folding in a bathtub and slimy-looking creatures were slithering up the side of the tub. Anna had heard of the movie, and that it was real creepy and gross. But she shrugged.

Miko had already shoved the disc into the DVD player and had sat back in the sofa. Anna again sat next to Jack. Raf was sitting in front of the TV on his stomach. Miko snatched up the remote and turned on the TV. He was reading the back of the case.

"it says that it's about worm-like creatures coming to Earth and taking over people's bodies. Miko, are you sure that this is okay?"

"Of course, little dude! Prepare for the scare of your life!" she said coolly and crossed her legs, turning the TV on. Bumblebee stepped up behind them, and watched intently in interest of the new movie.

Half an hour later, Anna had her face buried in Jack's shoulder, Jack was grasping her shoulder as she peeked out from his shirt, daring to look. Raf had scurried behind the couch, peeking over the top of the back. Miko had wide eyes as she stared at the TV screen. Bumblebee's optics were huge and he was shocked into silence. Never head he seen such a gruesome movie… None of them had… A girl in the movie was in the bathtub, like it had shown on the disc cover. One of the slimy, legless creatures was slugging along, crawling up the side of the tub and plopping into the water with a squishy and gross _squash_. It wriggled in the water, creeping toward the girl as she sat oblivious to the creature as she listened to her music.

Anna looked at the TV, and gasped when the girl screamed and jumped out of the tub. The slithering thing kept coming at her, attempting to get into her mouth as it crawled up her back. The kids' and yellow and black mech's eyes and optics grew wide when the parasite was halfway in her mouth, and was fixing to get inside her head, but the girl spat it out and killed it with a hair iron. Suddenly her mother appeared, one having gotten into her brain and she fell to the ground.

Then suddenly, the TV went black.

"Hey!" Miko gasped, frowning in disappointment.

"_Yeah, Arcee, it was just getting good!_" Bumblebee whined, his door wings drooping some.

Anna sighed in sheer relief, and then realized that she was hugging Jack's abdomen with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Jack looked down, and suddenly let go in embarrassment. The two cleared their throats and straitened themselves up. They gave each other odd looks before smiling.

"Oh, please! You guys were shaking in your skins watching that movie." Arcee huffed, holding the tiny plug that she had pulled from the TV.

Raf, who was leaning over the back of the couch, sighed and slid between Jack and Anna. The group laughed when he landed. Jack suddenly grinned and started tickling the younger boy's sides. The young boy giggled and squirmed, scooting up against Anna's side when Jack continued his attack. Satisfied that the kids were distracted by something else besides the movie, Arcee smiled and turned away, walking over to Bulkhead to make conversation.

While trying to get away from Jack's devious fingers, he twisted around and having done so, Jack's hand slipped under his arm and caught her side. Anna squeaked, jerking her arm down and blushing in sheer surprise. Jack only stared in confusion. Bumblebee and Raf did too, as well as Miko. The teenage girl stared right back, blinking. Suddenly the others got evil looks in their eyes. She began to feel as if she was being closed in on. Wait… she was!

Suddenly they all turned on her, Jack's pouncing and attacking her sides, Miko getting her feet, and Raf wiggling his fingers into her neck. She shrieked with laughter, the first time she had laughed all day. She squirmed as much as she could, but with her hips being pinned by Jack's legs and Miko on her shins and Raf above her shoulders, she was very limited on her movement.

"Hahaha- Jack! Stop! Miko, Raf… Eek! Stop!" jack reached under her arms, and made her jolt downwards into the cushions. Miko's fingers spidered up and down her socks, but she had to hug her ankles to keep her still. Raf was having trouble getting to her neck, but when Jack helped by getting at her stomach, he had no problem.

"Well, well, well… It's almost as if Wheeljack was never here!" Ratchet commented when Optimus appeared beside him.

The Prime watched the kids play. "Almost."

Bumblebee had joined in now, Jack had moved and the yellow and black was experimenting on their victim. He poked her with his finger, and when she giggled and tried to scurry away, he pinned her with his other hand and carefully tickled her stomach and sides with his index finger and thumb. This went on for a while until the other kids joined in again.

But after a while, she suddenly broke.

"Stop!" she shrieked, loud and pleading. It surprised the others, who jumped back in shock. She was gasping for air, tears running down her face. She then sat up abruptly, standing up and hugging herself.

"I'm sorry…" she murmured before rushing down the steps and venturing away from them, leaving them in confusion of what they had done wrong.

She left the main room, and wandered into the large hallway. She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes. She didn't mean to shout at them like that. She was just… well… She and Wheeljack used to t=do that together… Have tickle fights, play around and joke with each other… She missed him so much… even if he had been gone only for a day… It wasn't the act he was gone for the whole day that made her upset. It was the thought that he wouldn't come back to take her to bed with him… Where would she sleep tonight? On the couch?

She wandered around, feeling a little cold but not wanting to go back into the main room. She didn't want to face the others after having freaking out the way she did… She had never been tickled by anyone else besides her father, who was dead now, and Wheeljack.

She listened to the silence of the hallway, it was actually quite peaceful. She could think, she could relax a little. Suddenly she froze when she heard a loud echo through the walls. She stopped walking, and it stopped. She was silent for a moment, not moving, but then started walking again. The echoes started again. Were they her footstep echoes? She wasn't wearing any shoes, so they couldn't have been her. Besides, how could she make some that loud? She stopped, they stopped, she walked again, they started again. Each footstep echoed through the hallway. Suddenly she jumped when she heard a laughing behind her.

She turned her head and sighed when she saw her 'new' guardian. He grinned at her, tapping his foot a few times.

"Sorry, couldn't resist!"

She offered a small smile. "Hey, Smokescreen."

He smiled back and kneeled down on a knee. "What's up? You seemed happy a minute ago. What's with the long face?"

She shrugged at his question. "Just my mind wandering I guess."

He blinked slowly. "About Wheeljack, huh?" When she nodded, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he looked at her again.

"I'm sorry, about everything that's happened. I was shocked when I found out that I was going to be your guardian. I was in a rush. What do I do? What should I tell her? What would we do? Where would we go? What were the rules of being a guardian? Ha! I was hysterical!"

Anna let out a giggle. "Really? I didn't know that there was so many things to consider when watching over a kid!"

The bot chuckled and his optics lit up. "Yeah, but I guess I was just overreacting."

She smiled up at him. But then she rubbed her arm with her hand. "Um… Smokescreen?"

"Yeah?" he answered.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier… about not wanting a new guardian… I didn't mean anything by it."

He smiled sympathetically. "I know, Anna. It's fine, really. I know that you are really upset about Wheeljack leaving and all."

The teen smiled gratefully at him. She was happy that he understood that she had felt terrible lately, and didn't take what she had said personally. He had always been a happy-go-lucky bot. Maybe he could cheer her up some.

"Um… Hey, Anna…?"

She looked up.

"Heh, uh… If you want to, since you did the same with Wheeljack, you could… stay with me tonight in my berth room if you want. I mean… only if you want to."

She smiled, feeling her chest loosen and relief wash over her. Anna huffed, chewing that offer over on her mind. But she finally nodded.

"Okay…"

**Hope this is okay so far, thanks, comment! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Transformers Prime Short**

By

Dragon with a Shotgun

**Mistakes 3**

The Wrecker was recharging still at 8:00 in the morning, like always. His processer began to stir, and he opened his optics slowly, feeling the darkness fade away as he became alert. He then sighed, and looked down at his chest. He smiled when he saw the lump on his chest. That must have been a dream… Leaving Anna and going away. He huffed, grateful that it had been a vision of recharge. If it were real, he wouldn't know what to think.

He yawned, stretching. "Morning, kiddo… Wake up, we gotta go for our-," He shifted, pulling the blanket off of his chest. His optics went wide when he didn't see his young female friend.

"Drive…" he finally finished his sentence, sighing when he had realized that all of that hadn't been a dream. He had left Anna the previous day… That memory made his spark's happy feeling shatter into broken mirror pieces, reflecting off of his regret for making such an act.

But he wasn't going to grieve, or at least he wasn't going to try to. He actually wasn't sure if he could not… He had missed her curling up on his chest last night, feeling her snuggled against his chest and falling asleep. He had missed hearing her breathing before he fell into recharge. He felt a pang in his spark at the thought that she was with Smokescreen…

_She's probably having the time of her life… _he sighed deeply. He sat up and slid out of the berth, stretching a little before making his way outside. All the while his mind circled around Anna. That little squirt was probably playing video games and letting the young mech take her out for his own morning drive. She probably had forgotten about him already. It was better this way. He wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt. After all, Smokescreen always bragged about him being trained with the Elite Guard. Of course he'd know how to protect her properly. He'd been trained by the 'best'. Ha, Ultra Magnus was part of the Elite Guard, or the head of it, or something like that. Wheeljack never got into that crap. He'd always been in the Wreckers. Once a Wrecker, always a Wrecker. Nothing else.

_Besides a brother that is… _

He groaned, scolding himself. He opened the door and had to blink his optics to adjust to the bright light. He was way up North, miles and miles away from base. And he wasn't planning on going back for a while. He was happy. No responsibilities, no Elite Guards to boss him around, no medics to pester him, no worries. He was free, he didn't have any worry at all. But yet his spark hung heavy as he went to working on patching up the ship's side. A long while ago he had accidently lost control of the Jackhammer and rammed it into a cliff side. It had dented up the spot pretty bad, and had thrown the ship off balance for a while. It had penetrated through the metal and a hole could be seen on the inside. Air got inside, which had affected the ship's warming systems. He guessed that since he had nothing better to do he could get to work on repairing it.

While he worked, he had almost forgotten that Anna wasn't there. He expected to hear her call his name and come running up behind him any moment, a big smile on her face as she asked what he was doing. He could see her now. He smiled himself, chuckling softly. Without thinking, he turned around. For a second, he could almost swear that he could see her standing on the ground right there. But that image faded.

_Primus… I've only been gone for a day and night and I'm already going crazy about the kid… _

It was true. That night he had tossed and turned, not feeling right without her to put a little it of her weight on his chest. He couldn't rest well, and had missed that little kid more than he probably should have. But he couldn't help it… She was his… he had to strain to think of it, but she was his sister. One day without her was like a whole year. A whole lifetime! Primus… How he wished he could be with her again. He was almost desperate.

_Don't give in… She is better off now. If you go back now, you might hurt her… _That thought made him angry. He hated himself more than he hated that bucket-head Megatron himself. Even if it was only just a scratch, he hated that the fact was as clear as day… If he hadn't have transformed with her inside… Maybe now of this would've happened… What had happened for those Decepticons to find them? How did they see them? Were they just driving through town, and happened to spot the Wrecker and lock onto their target? Whatever the reason, he wished that he could go back and fix it.

As the sun rose higher, and the heat began to rise, Wheeljack had just got done fixing his ship when he felt his energy start to drain. He almost dropped the wrench he was holding, but he gripped it and blinked rapidly. His energon must be getting low. He's have to inject some into his system before he got too weak. So he put his tool down and hurried into the Jackhammer. He walked over to the second chest he had and opened it. Inside was a few rows of small containers full of light blue liquid. He carefully picked up the first one in the first row and pulled it out of the chest. He closed the chest and turned away. He then snatched up the injecting device on the table above the chest. He hooked the container to the device, locked it, and held it up to his face to examine it. He then lifted his free arm and took in a deep breath before connecting the device to his arm.

When the blue liquid had drained out of the container, he felt his strength build back up and his body relaxed. He jerked device from his arm and placed it back onto the table, rubbing his arm to sooth that slight pain that tingled to his hand. He rolled his shoulders for a moment before walking over to the pilot seat. He checked the Jackhammer's condition and sighed in relief when the problem had finally been fixed.

"I guess it's back to flying." he mumbled to himself, going back outside to gather his tools to bring them in before setting off on his flight. He took one last look at the landscape. Trees surrounded his ship, orange and red leaves blanketing the world. The sun was partially up, creating an even more brighter color to the scenery. It was one of those 'autumn days' as Anna had once referred it to. He sighed, and turned away to close the door behind him.

Anna was smiling softly as she was still asleep, snuggling against the warmness of the mech's chest. Even in her sleep, she could hear the gentle, soothing humming of his spark. Her guardian Wheeljack's spark was distinctive. It was a rough pulse, but gentle as it beat warmly within his spark chamber. But… this one was different. It was smooth, warm, but calm. It sounded… younger… Was that even the word for it? It… it just didn't feel the same as Wheeljack…

She wasn't too concerned about it at the moment, though. She was still very tired, and it wasn't even 10:00 yet. She sighed in her sleep, dreaming a sweet dream. But after a moment she felt the surface under her shift, and she moaned quietly as she barely opened her eyes. She could see a little light around her, but the chest she was lying on hadn't moved much, so she wasn't afraid of falling. She was reluctant, but she made herself lifted her head. She was going to as Wheeljack if he was awake, but when she saw the blue armor, the yellow stripes, and saw the face of who she was with, she gasped. When did she go to bed with him? How did she get here?

But she then began to remember the previous day when Wheeljack had left, last night when Smokescreen had offered to let her come to bed with him. She felt her chest tighten. Wheeljack could've been miles from here… He wasn't coming back. At least not for a while. She lifted her hand to touch the scratch on her forehead. She cringed slightly when it stung. She would have to patch it up whenever she left the room.

Smokescreen's arms stretched over his head as he began to stir, she clung to him as he arched his back as he was brought back to reality from recharge. He opened his optics and casually looked down at his chest as a simple gesture, probably had no clue that she was there. But he momentarily had a surprised expression when he had spotted her, but eventually smiled tiredly at her.

"Mornin', Sunshine!" he groaned loudly, stretching again.

She blinked for a moment, processing his choice of words in greeting, but then shook her head before sitting up. "Morning…"

He placed his arms behind his head, rolling his shoulders as he got his joints loose. She stretched as well, her arms stretching high over her head and dropping when her body relaxed. She felt as he slid into sitting position, his hand slipping under her to support her as he leaned against the wall. He rolled his neck for a minute, and she could almost hear popping. Could they do that? Did they have joints like humans' joints?

"So, sleep well?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders testingly.

She shrugged. "I guess…"

"You should've seen yourself last night. You went out like a light before I could even get to the berth!"

She hummed softly, just a sound to reply to his statement. She was still groggy, and still trying to process what had happened last night and how she got to his room… actually she was trying to process everything… Wheeljack had left… Smokescreen became her new guardian… and she guessed that she stayed the night with him. She assumed that she must have been too tired to object to his offer.

"Hey, what's up?"

She looked up at him. "Huh?"

He arched a metallic brow and cocked his head slightly to the side. "I mean, is something wrong?"

She was silent for a moment, wondering if whether or not she should talk to him about it or not. She badly wanted to express how she felt. Her mind was slow, but not in a tired away anymore. It was now sadness. She really missed her old guardian. There wasn't anything about Smokescreen that was bad or anything, but he… he wasn't… How should she put it?

He wasn't Wheeljack.

Smokescreen studied her face for a moment, trying to pick out any emotion that would clue him to what she was thinking. But he then sighed. Of course, she was thinking about Wheeljack. But that Wrecker was way up North. Ratchet had spoken to him just yesterday after he had left, when he was making sure that he was alright heading off. He had overheard the conversation. It was short, but it was clear to him that Wheeljack was depressed, he had a very low voice. Smokescreen knew that Wheeljack missed Anna as much as she missed him, if not more. Much more. He hated to see her upset. Normally she would be jumping off the walls in excitement or whatever. At least that was what he had heard about her from the kids talking. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but wasn't sure what to say.

But before he could say anything she had slid out of his hand and jumped onto the berth beside him. She slowly walked to the end of the berth and jumped down. She slid down one of the poles that kept the berth standing until she reached the floor. She then walked over to a pile of clothes that were over by his desk.

He suddenly remembered something Miko had said. She said that girls had 'privacy' when changing clothes or something like that. He knew that she wasn't Cybertronian, and he wasn't human, but the thought of her being female and fixing to change made him feel awkward. Since being taught by his mother and father before the war and also being in the Elita training, he had learned how to treat other gendered beings. So he cleared his throat and looked away, turning over and staying silent.

Anna turned to look over her shoulder, wondering what had caused him to abruptly turn over. Was he suddenly tired and trying to go back to sleep? Was he feeling sick? She frowned to herself but shrugged. She then guessed that maybe he was bashful about being around her still. She realized that this was the first time that he had ever tried being a guardian. Wheeljack was never shy. He never minded her changing in his ship with him. But sometimes he'd still be in recharge on mornings when he had been up working the previous night. But he was never bothered by her changing. He even told her that one of the few first nights she had stayed with him.

But she resumed slipping off her jeans and slipping into her tan shorts. She then pulled on her red tank top shirt. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bobby pin and grabbed a piece of longer bangs that hung in front of her right eye. She then stepped into her black and white sneakers. After she was done getting dressed, she then turned around and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, you can look now, you overgrown mama's boy!"

He jerked his head to glance at her, then he sat up and leaned over his knees, his optics dim as he gazed at her.

"Hey, this 'mama's boy' is trying to be generous and give you privacy!" he grinned at her.

She smiled warmly back. His smile made her feel a little better and felt a little at ease. She looked at her phone on his desk. She must have put it there the night before and left it there without meaning to. She went over to the desk, climbed up the chair and then hopped onto the top. She snatched up her phone and sat down, swinging her legs over the edge.

Jack: Sent at 6:00 a.m.: _Hey, Anna, I wanted to know if you'd like to grab breakfast sometime this morning whenever you wake up. Raf suggested that place down by the corner of town, you know, the one with that big waffle with the smiley face on it. If you don't want to, it's okay. Ttyl._

Anna smiled at her phone. She looked up at Smokescreen, who was now standing and stretching his legs. She thought for a moment. Maybe it would do some good to go out and have a good time. Smokescreen seemed to see her expression and smiled at her.

"Who's that?" he asked, arching metallic brow again.

"Jack. He said that they were going to eat this morning." She looked at her phone again to check the time. It was only 8:30 a.m. It had only been two and a half hours since the text. She still had time. She looked back up at Smokescreen again.

"So, what are we waiting for?" he said with a large smile before walking towards the desk. He held out his hand and let her step in his palm before turning to the door. He walked over to it and it slid open and closed behind them when they exited.

Later that morning, they were on the road on their way to the café that Jack had mentioned. The others had already left, but were glad to hear that she was going to be joining them. Smokescreen was on the main road, the same one that Wheeljack and Anna had been two days ago. Being on the road put Anna on edge, and sensing it, Smokescreen tried to assure her that there was nothing to worry about. They were safe, Ratchet was monitoring the area, and he could outdrive any Decepticon. None of this made her feel any better. Ratchet was monitoring the screens on the day she and her old guardian were attacked, but he hadn't been watching at every moment. And those Decepticons were very fast drivers, not matter what Smokescreen thought. Plus there were flying Decepticons too, which made her even more nervous.

"Oh, come on, Anna!" the blue and yellow mech sighed. "You don't need to worry so much. I mean, think about it. After what happened the other day, they wouldn't be expecting any Autobots to be driving around in the open like this. Megatron knows that. So he wouldn't bother to send any patrol, right?"

Anna sighed, shrugging as she turned her head to look out the window. "I dunno…"

_Primus, this kid's miserable… Frag the others for making me her guardian! _He frowned inwardly. He didn't have anything against Anna, it was just the fact that he may have not considered how difficult it would have been to take care of a moody teenage girl that was depressed and having hormonal ups and downs… Primus… What was he even thinking when he agreed to take this job?

_I guess I was just trying to help… like I always do… Then I always get into trouble. _

He sighed quietly, trying desperately to grab onto something that might be use trying to make her feel better. Usually he was good at this kind of thing. He was always the happy-goo-lucky guy who always had something funny to say. Now he was… blank. He had nothing. Come on! Wasn't there something, SOMETHING, that could make this kid happy again?

_Oh, of course… Wheeljack… Frag him…_

He suddenly scolded himself for that thought. Wheeljack had done right in leaving, to keep her safe. He meant well, even if it was a pain in the aft for the younger bot. This was a new experience for Smokescreen, and it would be a real test of responsibility. It was a great honor, to accept something like this from Optimus Prime, after all. He would make Optimus proud, and Wheeljack too. But there was only one problem with that.

How in the world was he going to get Anna to be happy again?

He let that thought jump in his head for a long time. But it was as if the harder he thought the harder it was to come up with something. He knew one thing for sure, though. The silence was sheer torture for him. So he quickly found something to at least a short conversation.

"Uh… hey Anna?" he cleared his throat softly.

She acknowledged his voice by glancing at his steering wheel. "Hm?"

"How's it going with… um… school?" he suggested.

She shrugged, and leaned away from the window. Her eyes had lightened up as she thought for a moment before she looked back at his wheel.

"We're working on a science project in Science class."

Secretly thanking Primus that she was finally talking, he smiled to himself, hence not physically being able to smile at her being in his vehicle form. So as a substitute he tilted his rearview slightly.

"Oh? What is it?" he asked.

"We have to get a chemical or liquid and melt a nail. It has to dissolve a kind of metal."

"Can't you just use Helium?" he asked.

She surprised him by giggling. "Smokescreen, Helium is a gas. It's what people use to make balloons float!"

He chuckled, embarrassed. How was he supposed to know what Helium was? Helium wasn't a element on his home planet. So he had never heard of it. The only reason that he'd suggested Helium was because it sounded like a weird element that the humans probably used.

"Oh… well, so what can melt metal?"

She made a shrugging motion. "There's coke."

"Coke?" he repeated, not quite understanding. Wasn't coke one of those liquids that humans drank for energy?

She felt the odd silence of the vehicle and knew what he was thinking. "There's acid in coke that can dissolve metal."

"Then how can you drink it?"

"We have this inner wall-like thing in our stomachs called a mucous I think. It keeps the acid in our stomachs and the acid that we ingest from hurting us."

Smokescreen chewed on that for a minute. When he had put the pieces together, he distractedly titled his side view mirrors.

"Oh, well, that's nice to hear…" he said quietly, almost to himself.

She arched a brow. Maybe talking to him about human biology made him feel queasy or something. She knew how Ratchet hated the subject. He sometimes said that it was disgusting of how the human body worked, and that he was grateful that he had not been born a human. Being robot was just as simple and comfortable as he could get.

She smiled, and shrugged. Then she blinked.

"Did you ever go to school?"

"What?" he slowed down quickly, but then returned to his normal speed. "School… right… uh…"

"Yeah?" she urged.

He cleared his throat. "Uh… Yeah… I did…"

"What was it like?" she asked, curiosity in her voice and her eyes now brighter. She leaned forward, expecting him to answer.

Should he? Yeah, he did go to 'school', but even though he had trained in the Elita Guard and all, that didn't mean that he was top dog at his academy. Actually, in truth, he was the small and very nervous kid of the grade. He was always getting picked on. He was always being called names, the typical bully problems that many sparklings, even humans, went through during their years of school. He wasn't sure if he could tell her. But hey, wasn't it normal for sparklings and human kids alike to have these kinds of problems? He sighed, and decided that maybe, since it was way in the past, he could tell her about.

"It was… fun, I guess." He lied. Maybe he couldn't.

"Fun? How many friends did you have?"

He was quiet for a second, but then answered. "I had a lot. More than I could count!" he smiled nervously inwardly.

She tilted her head, an odd and suspicious look on her face. But she then smiled slightly and turned to look out the window. He sighed silently, feeling the tension drift from his form as he continued on the drive. At least he made her happy-ish. Even if she wasn't cured, at least she was talking to him more.

**Okay, sorry I haven't posted in a while for this story. I guess this shouldn't be considered a short story, or whatever… I dunno. I'll just leave the title as is. Anyway, I have not seen the G1 series, or any other series that there might be (besides Prime, movies verse, and Animated). So I don't exactly know Smokescreen's 'school life' if it is ever mentioned. So if I am wrong, please let me know and I'll research it or whatever and correct it. Thank you :). **


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